“It starts out as a competent example of kitchen sink fiction as popularised by the angry young man ‘movement’ of the 1950s, but turns into something far stranger and more wonderful as the book progresses.”

Post-war England has always been an interesting subject for me, especially the disenfranchised youth that would help develop cultures like skinheads, Teddy Boys, mods, and later, punks. Still, many times I fail to recognize the influence the kitchen sink genre’s “angry young men” had on these youth movements, and possibly on Richard Allen’s skinhead novels, and The Who’s Quadrophenia.

Very very interesting. A few days ago my girlfriend was telling me how skinhead culture (and the name itself) originates among Caribbean migrants in the UK (slaves in cotton plantations would shave their heads for practical reasons). Quite mindblowing.

Jason Diamond

That makes sense actually, and makes the rudeboy/skinhead connection even more interesting.

Nicola di Bowery

Right? Like, I sensed a connection must have been there, but finding out that it was so strong (and originally so unidirectional) was fascinating.